Just wanna be Ginny
by Sarcasma
Summary: Finished Where can Ginny go to be noticed for her own accomplishment? Will anyone be able to sympythize? Will they ever get her to come home? Please Read and Review!
1. A Weasley

Chapter 1 - Graduation  
  
"Freedom!" Ginny Weasley shouted at the top of her lungs. "Ahhhh!" She was now dancing around the common room where students were hustling to get ready, and the ones not preoccupied with that were giving her strange looks.  
  
"Shhh, keep it down Gin," hissed an embarrassed Colin.  
  
"But do you know what this means?"  
  
"Yeah, we have to actually do something with ourselves."  
  
"No," Ginny stated exasperated, "it means the world is our oyster! We could do anything we want!"  
  
"Well, maybe you can, but I'm still trying to get my foot in the door at the ministry. I might end up being stuck working at Flourish and Blotts or something."  
  
"Why do you only include yourself in that?" Ginny hinted resentment in Colin's tone.  
  
"Well, isn't it obvious? You already have a family member working in any occupation in the wizarding world. Percy and you dad work at the Ministry, Bill works for the Gringotts international, Charlie just got a promotion overlooking all magical creatures in the European region, and Ron writes editorials for the Daily Prophet." Colin gave her a look of jealousy. They had been best friends this last year, since Ginny had no one to hang out with, and Dennis Creevy (Colin's brother, younger, none the less) had found himself a girlfriend.  
  
"That doesn't mean anything," Ginny stated trying to brush off the suggestion.  
  
"Sure it does. First of all, you could get into any wizarding- training program with scholarship. Not to mention any time you apply for a job you'll be more likely to get it because you're a Weasley. I, on the other hand, will have difficulty even getting into the Auror program, like I really want." Colin looked for some sort of reaction that wouldn't backfire on him. It wasn't that he didn't think that Ginny would be a good candidate for any job she tried to get, but it did make it easier, being a pureblood.  
  
As much as Colin didn't want to admit that being born in to a muggle family made things harder, he had to at least be honest with himself. Needless to say, after this conversation with Ginny, they didn't talk during the trip home.  
  
***  
  
Ginny had spent the train ride to London considering what Colin had just accused... no he hadn't accused her of anything, but was what he said true? Would she spend the rest of her life hanging on the coat tails of her brothers? It always used to bother her that she didn't really have her own identity. It was always 'Weasley? Are you (insert protective older brother's name here)'s little sister'. And it was always LITTLE sister.  
  
True Ginny was the youngest, but hated being labeled the 'baby'. She had grown up quite a bit through her years at Hogwarts. She really had become a woman. The boys had noticed too.  
  
Ginny had had a few boyfriends. She took these relationships seriously, but only as far as her 'significant other' did. Her first relationship had been with Michael Corner, and then she decided she might be better off with a fellow Gryffindor. Ginny liked Dean Thomas, but found that she only really wanted him as a friend. He took this well, and had been dating Parvati Patil since. As a matter of fact Parvati and Dean were engaged.  
  
As for Ginny, she had moved onto a relationship with a seventh year Hufflepuff, who also happened to be head boy. Safe choice right? Well, he tried getting closer to Ginny than she wanted. She had always been taught to save that part of herself for one person, and she wasn't sure he was that someone, so that was another end to a complicated situation.  
  
Currently she was single and not looking for anything. There was too much fun to be had to be tied down to anyone. So here she was, back at home, planning a new start for herself, a new life in which she would be Ginny Weasley. Just Ginny.  
  
***  
  
At the Burrow, Molly and Fluer were preparing a number of Ginny's favorite dishes. Parmesan chicken, mashed potatoes with a thin herb gravy, green bean casserole, homemade Red Current juice, and Pecan pie to finish off the meal. The whole family was home for the celebration. The final member of the Weasleys had graduated and they were all proud of their sister.  
  
Bill and Charlie had helped with the decoration, Bill stopping every now and then to give a small kiss to his pregnant wife. Fluer had been in such a condition for three months now. Bill was excited finding this whole kid thing as some sort of an adventure. He was almost as excited as Ginny, in fact. Bill had been working at the Gringotts in Diagon Alley for the past year. He hadn't had many trips to exotic places to treasure hunt, but found that he was even more content to be home, and realized just how much he had missed his family.  
  
Charlie, to Molly's great dismay, swore that he wouldn't fall subject to such a 'distasteful state' also known as marriage. He was content caring for Dragons in Romania, and currently had charge of a certain dragon that was being trained for human contact. Charlie, having been promoted, also had the responsibility of supervising progress made with colonies of many different magical creatures, which at times took him away from his beloved dragon, but he did enjoy studying other animals.  
  
Fred and George took some time off and left their store for Lee Jordan to take care of for a few days. They had been quite successful since they had left Hogwarts, and probably could have retired early, with the money they had made. Right now, they looked completely undignified pouting because Mrs. Weasley had stopped them from playing a trick on Ginny as a 'welcome home' joke.  
  
"She would have loved it though, Mum," whined George in their defense.  
  
"I most certainly think she would be offended by having fireworks going off in her bedroom. Besides, do you think that Crookshanks or Hermione would have appreciated it?"  
  
"Sure, who can't use a good shock to their system every now and again?" Fred said  
  
"I said no!" That usually meant that Molly couldn't think up anymore arguments that would detour the twins from whatever course of action that they are planning, but if they do, they will have to deal with her wrath.  
  
Hermione had arrived early that morning, and, as Molly had expected, was grateful for the lack of explosives in the room she was sharing with Ginny. She had been working for the Department of Records at the Ministry since she was so good at organizing and research. She had gotten out of work along with Ron and Harry so they could all catch up.  
  
"So, how's the Auror program Harry?" Hermione inquired.  
  
"Not bad, I learned a lot of the spells we use at Hogwart, so at least I'm ahead there." Harry had not only learned the charms he would definitely use, but he knew charms, hexes, jinxes and spells that almost no other wizard would ever find use for. He had faced Voldermort several times during the duration of his schooling, and one final time only months after his own graduation. Harry had barely begun to get back to the life he would call 'normal'. "I do with the professors would stop using me as an example all the time though," Harry confessed.  
  
"Ah, it can't be that bad," Ron stated between bites of Honeydukes chocolate. "At least they aren't antagonizing you, like Snape did."  
  
"Antagonizing?" Hermione asked, shocked that Ron knew such a big word.  
  
"Yes, Hermione, antagonizing. You know, to incur or provoke hostility," Ron rolled his eyes. He had become much more of an intellect since he had been working for the Prophet. Ron had been part of the reason some witches and wizards were starting to trust the Daily Prophet's opinion again. Ron, in fact, had taken the place of Rita Skeeter, at the Prophet, and his parents were very proud of this change.  
  
Hermione, however much she loved her boyfriend, still had a hard time getting past the fact that he used such flourished adjectives and verbs such as 'antagonized'. On top of which, she couldn't believe he actually understood what he said.  
  
"So when is Ginny going to get here?" Harry asked, changing the subject.  
  
"In an hour or so," Ron replied. "Dad, Percy, and Penelope went to get her.  
  
"Great, so does that mean you'll stop eating," Hermione said grabbing the chocolate from Ron. 


	2. Getting Started

Chapter 2- Getting started  
  
Most of Ginny's friends had not been at her graduation celebration, since they spent that time celebrating with their own families. The next two weeks, however, consisted of many social events before real life set in. Harry and Hermione had stayed during this time and Ron was in and out.  
  
This was her true group of friends. In fact, Hermione and Ginny confided in each other about everything. Ginny was the first to be informed of her big brother's relationship with Hermione, and, in turn, Hermione was usually the first to know of Ginny's relationships, if not the only person to know.  
  
It was true that she had a crush in her first year on Harry, but she had long since forgotten about that, unless her dear, sweet older brothers decided to remind her. It was the summer after her third year that she finally decided to recognize that it was a silly school-girl crush, and that she only liked him because he was Harry Potter, not to mention her brother's best friend.  
  
"So," Ginny said coming into the kitchen fully dressed, "what are you going to do today?" She looked up at the trio.  
  
"Well, these two have decided that they need some 'alone time'." Harry stated bitterly.  
  
"Don't be so upset Harry. You know what 'alone time' means, don't you?" Ginny gave a devious look over the top of the newspaper.  
  
Harry reciprocated with a sly grin, "no what?"  
  
"It means, Mr. Potter, that they haven't had a good snog in quite some time." Ron, who was in the middle of taking a drink of milk, spit it all up and went completely red in the face.  
  
"GINNY!" Ron shouted amid the roar of laughter coming from Ron's so called best friend. "That's not what it means! It's, it's just that... well we haven't really seen each other in a month, and I wanted to take Hermione out on a date."  
  
Through this entire conversation Hermione maintained a dignified expression. "Settle down, Ron, she doesn't really mean it, do you Ginny?"  
  
"Whatever tickles your fancy Hermione," Ginny attempted to say with a straight face. Only Harry really got the innuendo behind the statement. Hermione accepted it as a retract of her previous statement, and Ron, knowing he wouldn't be able to get a real apology out of Ginny, surrendered to avoid any more embarrassment. "Well, Harry, I have an interview in about an hour, but perhaps we can go to Diagon Alley for a while after that?"  
  
"Sure, sounds good to me." Something in Harry jumped with joy at the fact that he might get to spend the day with Ginny. What am I thinking, Harry scolded himself. It's Ginny. He made his mind leave the strange thoughts he had, and went upstairs to get ready. Ron followed Harry up the stairs and went to his room to make sure he had everything ready for that day. This left Hermione and Ginny to have a girl talk.  
  
"So, is there anyone new in your life," Hermione questioned.  
  
"No, not since I broke up with Kyle. I just haven't seen a point, you know?"  
  
"Yeah, it's not all it's cut out to be, unless it's the right one," Hermione stated with a gleam in her eye.  
  
"Has Ron given you any permanent magical hair dye yet?" Ginny had an evil smirk spread across her face.  
  
"No, why," Hermione thought it was a strange question.  
  
"Well, you know Mum was originally a blonde, right?"  
  
"No!" Hermione seemed shocked. "But... but hold on, why did she dye it."  
  
"It was kind of her way of showing her devotion, and becoming a Weasley."  
  
"Well, what does that have to do with me," Hermione said casually, averting her eyes.  
  
"I don't know, let's think. Why would Hermione get hair dye from my brother?" Ginny just rolled her eyes and started laughing.  
  
"So does that mean you should dye your hair black?"  
  
"What?" Ginny asked completely serious.  
  
"You heard me."  
  
"Yeah, but I don't know what you're talking about. You know that I got over that stupid crush years ago.  
  
"True, but I think his is just beginning," Hermione had a sly grin on.  
  
"Right, Hermione, Harry has a crush, on me."  
  
"Didn't you see the way he was looking at you?"  
  
"You mean the way he looked at me like a little sister, yeah, for years."  
  
"Oh, come on Ginny. Don't be so oblivious to what's going on."  
  
"Look who's talking, how long did it take you to admit to liking Ron? Six years?" Ginny hoped that this would end the conversation, but Hermione was too persistent for this.  
  
"So learn from my mistake. Trust me Ginny. Even Ron thinks Harry likes you."  
  
"Okay, so I'll keep an eye out, but it's not like anything is going to happen. I'm not just going to start liking him because he may or may not like me. Besides, I like just having him as a friend."  
  
"But Ginny, you're perfect for each other."  
  
"Oh, are we now. I believe it was you who said that Dean and I were perfect for each other as well. Look how that one turned out." Hermione started to put on a pout.  
  
"Just promise me you'll keep an open mind."  
  
"Fine, fine, I'll think about it, but that doesn't mean that anything will happen."  
  
The girls then changed their topic to more simple things, like the interview, how Hermione's work was going and such.  
  
***  
  
Two hours later Ginny found herself walking down Diagon Alley with Harry. She had just gotten a part-time job in the department of Improper use of Magic. She was to be Malfalda Hopkirk's new secretary and Harry was helping her celebrate.  
  
"We need two banana splits with vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, extra whip cream, and as many cherries as can fit. Oh, and Ginny did you want anything," Harry said jokingly while paying the cashier for the ice cream.  
  
"Thanks Harry," Ginny said when she had controlled her laughter.  
  
"So, what are you going to do, now that you have a job?"  
  
"Go home, and sleep? Is that the right answer?"  
  
"Well, the muggle answer would be that you're going to Disneyland."  
  
"Alright, then I'm going to Dizzyland."  
  
"No, no it's, oh never mind," Harry began shaking his head and laughed. "Really, didn't they offer you a full-time in your dad's office?"  
  
"Yeah, but then people would think that I just got the job because of him, and I'm going to start the Auror program too."  
  
"Really?" This made Harry happy. That meant that he'd see her a lot more often. "When do you start?"  
  
"The program or the job?"  
  
"The program."  
  
"In a month."  
  
"What about the job?"  
  
Ginny paused and thought for a moment, then stated nonchalantly, "in a month."  
  
This began a whole new fit of laughter emitted from Harry. He felt so comfortable with her, and he wondered why he had never seen her like this before. Ginny's hair seemed so soft, and Harry just wanted to reach out and feel it, but knowing she might find this to be strange, he restrained himself.  
  
Ginny, on the other hand, had completely ignored everything Hermione had told her. She kept going on about how excited she was, and saying that she had to go get her books. Ginny was just rambling like nothing was different, and as if they had been friends forever. Well, they had, but that was besides the point.  
  
The afternoon went too quickly for Harry, especially since in two days he and Ron would be going back to their apartment in London. It would be at least another month until he saw Ginny again. I have to find out when her classes are, he reminded himself. 


	3. The Good, the Bad, and Brian

Chapter 3- The good, the bad, and Brian  
  
It hadn't taken Ginny too long to get into the swing of things. She did pretty well to keep herself busy during the summer. In fact, she hadn't even noticed that summer was almost over. Ginny had already received a raise at her job, passed the first Auror test to get into the second class, and managed to spend some time with her family. Not much, but some.  
  
In fact, Ginny found that she saw Harry more often than the rest of her family. Strange, she would think sometimes, but soon enough she would excuse it with the fact that he was already around the Auror training academy. So far, real life wasn't too bad. Yet, a little voice in the back of her head (one that sounded an awful lot like Colin Creevy) kept telling her that it was only because she was a Weasley.  
  
It didn't help that all her teachers at the training academy knew at least one of her brothers. Every time she was in a new class Ginny dreaded the roll call. Why can't my name be at the beginning of the roll, she would sigh to herself. If it were at the beginning maybe they would just keep going, but noooo.  
  
Ginny always got, "Oh, how is Bill doing..." or "send Fred and George my regards" or "what is Percy doing these days?" As much as she realized that the rest of the class thought of her as the teacher's pet, or looked at her with jealousy, she answered the questions politely, not wanting to be rude either.  
  
Ginny was thinking on this one day while she was helping her mum with the lunch dishes.  
  
"Is everything okay, dear?" Molly asked, noticing the distant look coming from her youngest child.  
  
"Yeah, I guess... well, not really," Ginny confessed.  
  
"What is it?" Molly was good at listening to her children's problems, and giving advice. However, Ginny was really the only one who opened up to her and recognized her talent for problem solving.  
  
"It's just something Colin said to me before we left Hogwarts."  
  
"My, that must have been some time ago, and you're still worried about it?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well then, what was it that he said that could keep you worried for so long?"  
  
"The gist of it? Just that I have it easier because I'm a Weasley."  
  
"What's so bad about that?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing at all. It's just, I don't want other people to think I don't deserve anything, I want them to know that I earned it."  
  
They had finished the dishes and made their way to sitting on the large pink-stripped couch in the living room. "All you have to do, Ginny, is make them see that."  
  
"How, Mum? How can I do that, when all anyone sees me for is my six older brothers?"  
  
"I see. I suppose I never thought having a large family could have its down side. Having only grown-up with one sister, I thought any child would enjoy having so many siblings to play with and all. I'm sorry that you have to bear such a burden."  
  
"It's not a burden, Mum; it's just how things are. I mean, I love all my brothers, but it doesn't make it any easier to cope with the way people treat me. How can I get them to notice me for me?" Ginny looked desperately to her mother for the answer.  
  
"I can't give you that answer, Ginny. I wish I could, but I suggest starting from scratch and seeing what you can cook up from there." Molly then got up, and made her way toward the garden, leaving Ginny there to take in the conversation.  
  
After considering what she was told, she had to laugh. Ginny took the advice very seriously, but it was humorous how her mother could relate anything back to food.  
  
Ginny was so engrossed in thought, that she hadn't even noticed the new arrival.  
  
"Ginny?" Harry had to wave a hand in front of her face before she would even respond. "Oh good, for a minute there I thought that perhaps this was your mum's new way of grounding you."  
  
"Very funny, Harry." She rolled her eyes at him. "So what are you doing here?"  
  
"Not much, just seeing how classes are going for you."  
  
"Not bad. Harry can I ask you something?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"How would you describe me?"  
  
Beautiful, kind, funny, smart... he didn't feel that these would go over too well, so he tried to come up with some other response. "Err, well- I don't know. I guess to sum you up, I'd say you're very, err, Weasleyisc."  
  
Wrong answer. Harry was very proud of his adjective, but Ginny didn't seem too pleased. "Why, Ginny? Is something wrong?"  
  
"No."  
  
Harry, not being very good at reading between the lines, took what she had said at face value, and started to engross himself in a magazine to distract himself from his most recent thoughts about the girl sitting right across from him.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
"Yes," he was happy to hear his name.  
  
"Do you often read Witch Weekly?" Ginny had a smile of amusement spread across her face. Harry turned beet red as he put the magazine down.  
  
"Ugh, I have to go." Harry stood up, and apparated.  
***  
  
"Ron!" Harry shouted from the dining area of their two bedroom flat, and went into the kitchen, expecting to see Ron there. "Ron!"  
  
"What is it mate?" came a very tired voice from the out of Ron's bedroom, and entering the kitchen to join Harry.  
  
"I have a question."  
  
"Well, if it's about the milk, I'm pretty sure that it went south like three weeks ago."  
  
"No, it's about Ginny." That got Ron's attention. Out of all the Weasley brothers, Ron was probably the closest, not only in age, but in relationship to Ginny.  
  
"What about Ginny? Has something-"  
  
"No, no, calm down, Ron. It's just, well, I was wondering; if it would be okay if... well if I asked Ginny out?"  
  
Ron's face held a look of utter shock before turning slightly pink and gradually reddened into a interesting shade of crimson. Harry began preparing himself for the worst, thinking that this couldn't be a good sign.  
  
"You, you? You want to go out with Ginny?"  
  
"Uh, yeah."  
  
"For how long?"  
  
"Since she got home from school." His hand had never felt so sweaty before, not even during the final battle in which he defeated Voldermort.  
  
"And you didn't tell me? I thought we were supposed to be best mates." Harry let out the breath that he was holding when he saw Ron put on a sort of fake pout.  
  
"Sorry, Ron, I just wasn't sure about how-"  
  
"Don't worry about it, Harry. Yeah, I guess you can go out with her."  
  
"Really? Oh thanks Ron! You're the best," Harry stated this as if he were a five-year-old that just got his first broomstick.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, just, don't hurt her or I'll have to hurt you," Harry gave a look a pure terror. "Mate, lighten up, I'm kidding. Well, Hermione will be happy anyways."  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"Let's just say, I owe her five galleons."  
  
***  
  
A few weeks later, Harry had it all figured out. He was going to ask Ginny on a nice September picnic the next Sunday after dinner. There was a secluded lake near his and Ron's house that they could go for the picnic and a walk. Then maybe he'd bring her to see their place and watch a movie with Ron, Hermione and himself, of course.  
  
Sunday came, and he apperated to the Weasley's Garden as usual. Moments later Ginny was running up to him.  
  
"Harry! There's someone I want you to meet!" Harry's heart had stopped on the fact that she had said his name again, and almost missed the part about meeting someone. Ginny dragged him into the living room where Molly, Arthur, Hermione, a disgruntled Ron, and a stranger all sat around talking.  
  
"Harry, this is Brian Kirkstire. Brian, this is Harry Potter."  
  
Harry stood stunned as Brian stood up, and approached him.  
  
"Well, of course it is, Ginny." Brian put out a hand. It took Harry a moment before he knew what to do with it, but eventually he reached out and shook Brian's hand. "Good to meet you, Harry. Ginny's told me all about you."  
  
"The pleasure's all mine," Harry tried to get out with as little spite as possible. "and, to the contrary, she hasn't exactly told me of you. Where do you know each other from." Harry didn't break eye contact until Ginny started to respond to his question.  
  
"Brian came into my office about a month, looking for the Department of Control of Magical Creatures for an interview. He was completely lost, but we helped him find his way."  
  
"You're so modest, Gin. She helped me and was late to lunch because of it."  
  
Ginny blushed and continued the story. "Anyways, he asked me out a few days later, and we've been on a couple of dates since. I thought he might enjoy coming over to meet all of you."  
  
"So," Harry wanted a direct answer that fishing wasn't going to get him. "Are you two officially dating then?"  
  
"No," this time from Brian, "not yet."  
  
Harry didn't like the emphasis on the word 'yet'. 


	4. Harry vs Brian

Chapter 4- Harry vs. Brian  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it, Harry. I give it two months tops." Ron took a drink of his butter beer. Ginny's new boyfriend had been the topic of conversation between them for the last two weeks, that is since Brian had officially started dating Ginny.  
  
"But what if it isn't Ron? What if I messed up the best relationship I could have ever had, just because I couldn't work up the nerve to ask her out first?"  
  
Just then there was a loud pop that came from the living room, and moments later Hermione entered the kitchen with a bag full of groceries. "Hey Harry. Hi Ron," she leaned over and gave the latter a kiss on the cheek. "And what are we doing here."  
  
"Harry's pining again." Ron stated while trying to peek in the bag.  
  
"Get your hand out of there. I'm going to make you a proper meal, and you aren't to touch my ingredients!" She then turned her attention to Harry. "Harry, you should just move on. There's no use crying over spilt potion-"  
  
"Unless Snape's going to fail you for it," Ron interjected.  
  
"I'm not crying," Harry clarified. "I just don't trust this guy. I mean does she date every guy that waltzes into her office?" He then folded his arms and found a pretty pathetic pout to match the pretty pathetic whine added to his voice.  
  
"No, she only goes for the cute guys," Hermione stated while getting out the chicken. Harry and Ron both gave her looks of shock and horror. "I'm just kidding! Besides, isn't it up to her who she dates?"  
  
"No," Ron stated very firmly. "Not if the guy isn't good enough for her!"  
  
"Well, that's not up to you to decide either, Ron. Now I know you liked the idea of Ginny going out with your best friend, but you really have to stop treating her like a baby. Now, let's teach you two how to cook."  
  
"I know how to cook," Harry said. "I just don't like to."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes as Harry left the room. She went to grab the milk to pour some into the bowl she was using, when a rancid smell filled her nostrils. "Eww," she gasped as she poured it down the drain.  
  
***  
  
Ginny was in her bedroom studying Occlumency. It had happened to be the easiest subject in the Auror classes for her so far. It wasn't unusual to find a witch or wizard who knew how to block others from their mind, but it was rare to find one who could use legemency. Even rarer was one who could read your mind even without a spell. Ginny was one of the extremely rare.  
  
It was understandable to the professors that she would have learned occlumency (especially those who knew of what happened in her first year), but Professor Miles was shocked when, while testing her on her own abilities, his memory got tampered into. After warning Ginny not to abuse the gift she had, they ended up using Ginny to help the other students practice this skill. This didn't make her anymore popular with her peers.  
  
So here she was, after another class of evil glares from her fellow classmates, lying in her room thinking about all the events of that day. She was in her own little world when she heard a knock on the door.  
  
"Come in," Ginny sat up on her bed. In walked Brian.  
  
"Hey, Gin, what are you doing?"  
  
"Nothing, what about you."  
  
"Oh, just had to come see you. Guess what?"  
  
"What?" Ginny's mind was still wandering.  
  
"I just got a promotion."  
  
"Wow! That was quick. I guess they see what a good worker you are!"  
  
"Yeah, it was between me and Steve. How 'bout I take you out?"  
  
"Sure," Ginny grabbed a jacket and they were off to a nice muggle restaurant in London.  
  
Ginny had ordered the Chicken Marsala and was quite enjoying herself, as Brian told her about all the new things he would be doing, and how he might get to travel and such. Ginny wasn't much into the things he was talking about, and instead decided to see if she could control her new skill of mind reading. Ginny didn't feel it was abusing the privilege, since he was her boyfriend. She began to concentrate.  
  
It's a good thing I started dating her. Ginny liked the way this internal dialogue was sounding. Good thing Charlie was the one hiring too. I guess she's pretty, not a bad kisser either. I wonder if she'd go any further with me.  
  
That was all Ginny need to hear. "Brian?" She interrupted him in the middle of her sentence, and he sensed that she was irritated. "Why are you dating me?"  
  
"Uh, because, well, why do you need to know Ginny?"  
  
"Just answer the question," she was loosing her patience. This was what she had hoped would help her 'start from scratch' or as close to scratch as she could get.  
  
"You helped me, and I asked you out, remember?"  
  
"Yeah, I remember, right before you went to interview with my brother!" She shouted this and stood up and ran out of the restaurant. She just kept running until she ended up in Wizarding territory in downtown London. Completely out of breath, she apparated home and ended up right in the middle of the family room. No one was home, at least no one who lived there was home. There in the recliner, was Harry reading the Daily Prophet. He saw how red Ginny's face was, from running, and the frantic appearance made him worry.  
  
Ginny didn't even say a word, she just went up the stairs opened a large suitcase, and messily threw some clothes into it. She was thinking of all the things she needed to do. Write to the headmaster of the academy, Mafalda, and her family, go to Gringotts, exchange her savings into muggle form... her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.  
  
"Go away!" She shouted, expecting it to be Brian.  
  
"Ginny is everything alright?" Harry's voice came from the other side of the door. "Can I please come in?"  
  
Ginny had an internal struggle, but decided to let him come in. "Hi, Harry," she said quietly before turning to back to the tasks at hand.  
  
"Going on vacation?" Harry was trying to be an anchor for her, let her tell when she was ready.  
  
"No," the answer was very short. She really didn't want Harry to think she was being silly or over reacting.  
  
"Well, what's going on?"  
  
"I'm just taking care of a few things. I don't want to be rude, but I really have to hurry."  
  
"Understood, if you need an ear, I'll be downstairs."  
  
Ginny looked at him. She wanted to see what he was thinking at that moment, but knew that of all people to block her from doing so, it would be Harry. She could read in his eyes, though, that he was being truly sincere.  
  
When Ginny turned back to her desk to finish her letters, Harry went back down the stairs to see none other than Brian.  
  
"Where is she?" he demanded.  
  
"Why?" Harry didn't like this situation in the least. There was something weird going on here, and he was going to find out what.  
  
"Because, she just stormed out on me in the middle of dinner! Not that it's any of your business why I want to see my girlfriend.  
  
"Ex-girlfriend," came a voice from the base of the stairs, suitcase in hand. Harry and Brian both looked over in her direction in shock.  
  
"Ginny, hon, what are you doing?" Brian went to her, and tried to grasp her hand.  
  
"That is no longer your concern. Please leave my parent's house, now."  
  
"Ginny, just hear me out-" Brian grabbed her by the arm harshly. This wasn't the first time Ginny had seen his temper, but she certainly wasn't going to deal with it this time. She turned around and slapped him straight across the face. Before he turned back around she had her wand out, pointed straight at Brian.  
  
"Don't you come near me again, or it'll be much, much worse for you." She then apparated to who knows where.  
  
This left Brian alone with a very angry Harry. "What did you do to her?"  
  
"Nothing! She all the sudden accused me of dating her because I work under Charlie!"  
  
"What?! Is it true?!"  
  
"So what if it is? That's not any of your concern."  
  
"That's what you think," with that Harry, not bothering with his wand, gave a sharp right hook to Brian's jaw. 


	5. The Putnams

Thanks to those of you who have reviewed!

This is my first fanfic, so I hope it's going alright. Disclaimer: If I owned these characters, I'd be millionare right now, and seeing as I'm not...then only the ones you HAVEN'T heard of are mine.

Chapter 5- The Putnams

Harry left the Burrow, leaving Brian to deal with the pain he had brought upon himself. He went to the first place he thought she might go, Hermione's house. Hermione still lived at home with her parents, so the first inhabitant Harry saw was a very shocked looking Kathryn Granger, Hemione's mum.

"Oh, sorry," Harry realized that the Grangers, being muggles, weren't used to apparation. "Is Hermione around? I really need to speak with her."

"Uh, yes, dear, she's in her room," Kathryn was able to get out, and just hoped this wasn't a life-threatening situation. The Grangers weren't told of the situation with the death eaters and Voldermort until after the threat had passed. They were shocked, to say the least, but she trusted her daughter and Hermione's friends could all handle themselves by now.

Harry ran and knocked on the door, but before getting any response shouted, "Hermione, have you seen Ginny? Is she in there with you?" He was desperate to find her, and seeing as she had a suitcase, the best-case scenario would be that Ginny was spending a few days at a friend's house.

Hermione opened the door, shocked to see Harry looking so flustered. "No, Harry, I haven't seen Ginny for almost a week. Why, what's happening?"

Harry didn't know where to start. "We have to find her Hermione."

"Come in here, and tell me what happened. Accio chair."

Harry entered the orderly bedroom that had walls lined with bookshelves. He sat down in the chair Hermione summoned for him, and explained it all. "... And now, I have no idea where she's gone. I hoped that she would have come here, but I guess I was wrong."

Hermione sighed, "I hate to say this Harry, but I don't think we're going to find her."

"What? But we have to Hermione, think of the Weasleys, think of Ron, and what about-"

"I don't think you're thinking of them, first. Second, think of Ginny."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know why she left? Maybe she has good reason."

"She left because her stupid git of a boyfriend was only dating her to get a good job working with Charlie. That's a pretty lame reason to leave." But as he finished he noticed a look of understanding on Hermione's face. "What? What is it?"

"Harry, she didn't leave because of Brian."

"What do you mean? I saw her hit the guy, and run out on him!"

"That wasn't the reason, though. Brian was just the last straw."

"Could you please explain this to me, because I'm completely lost."

"Ginny's been upset because she hasn't been recognized for herself lately, she's been recognized for her last name. If I was to wager a guess, I'd say she went off to live where that name doesn't mean anything to anyone."

"That could be anywhere!"

"Then we'll just have to wait for her to contact us." Hermione said this with a finality, which made Harry understand that this was truly upsetting Hermione as well. He decided to go wait at the Burrow so he could at least explain all of this to Molly and Arthur.

Ginny arrived by portkey to Salem, Massachusetts. She had to exchange her money, once again, from United Kingdom muggle money to American muggle money. Why they couldn't be the same she just didn't understand. Ginny thought she was told that she had 3,569 of these things called dollars, and 59 sense. This was all confusing to her, but she had set up an account the first morning she was there, and happened to find an American witch that helped her figure out how much to give the hotel cashier to rent a room for the night.

This witch was working as a maid for the hotel, and heard Ginny muttering in frustration about 'bloody muggle currency'. She showed Ginny up to her room and locked the door behind them.

"You're a witch, aren't you," the strange girl said. Ginny was in shock.

"How do you know that?"

"You were letting wizarding words slip. Careful not to talk about stuff like that, the witch trials may be over, but they'll think you're crazy, talking to yourself like that. My name is Jasmine Putnam, pleased to meet you."

"Ginny, Ginny Weasley. Thank you for helping me out down there, I couldn't make head or tails of the money." Jasmine let out a small giggle. "What's so funny?"

So Jasmine explained that in the muggle world, the sides of coins were either known as 'head' or 'tail'. She went on to find out about why Ginny was here, Brian (who Jasmine didn't care for in the least), Ginny's family, and how scared Ginny actually was to be here, in a country she'd never been to, all alone.

"Well, you could stay with my family for a while. I'll ask mom when I go home tonight. You'd have to put up with my annoying little brother, but other than that I can promise you it'd be better than being here all by yourself. Mom might even be able to help you get a job, or something."

This was all a great relief to Ginny. This was just what she needed. People whom she had to tell about her past, instead of everyone knowing and assuming things based on her surname.

One month later

"I can't believe it! I finally have a job!" Ginny came into the room Jasmine had graciously shared with her making the announcement as loud as possible. Mrs. Putnam had been training Ginny how to use muggle devices, like the telephone, and a computer, and such so that Ginny might be able to get another secretarial position, since that was the only past job experience she had.

"Good job Gin!" Jasmine got up and started jumping up and down with her. "What job is it?"

"This interior designer needed a secretary, and she's hired me! Her name is Sophie Stevens. I start at twelve dollars an hour. Wait," Ginny started thinking ", is that good?"

Jasmine's eyes had gone wide. "That's great! You'll be earning enough to buy an apartment some day! Not that I want you to move out." She stated as an afterthought. "I always did want a sister."

They started dancing around the room again until Jasmine's mom came in to see what the fuss was all about.

Not long later, they were eating out in celebration of Ginny's new job. Ginny hadn't expected finding a job to be so hard to find. Before, all she had to do was go to the interview, but now, now her last name wasn't such an advantage. Instead of feeling upset, or discouraged about this, though, she felt all the more proud for finding herself a job.

"I insist on paying you rent, Mrs. Putnam."

"For the last time, Ginny, you can call me Angela, or, seeing as my children have already adopted you, you may call me mom. And you don't have to pay me a dime. I always have the rule that as long as my children are going to school or working productively, they can live at home for free."

It was true. Ginny really had become a part of the family. The Putnams had shown her around the infamous Salem. They even had family that had been there during the trials. It was Jasmine's great-great-great-great aunt, or something (could have been one or two more 'greats' in there) that was one of the condemners. They laugh at what Ann Putnam would think if she knew that some of her ancestors were real witches.

Jasmine was a third generation witch. Her grandfather was a muggle-born. Her father had died when Jasmine was ten and her brother, Tyler, was four. Jasmine was now 16 years old, and worked after school for the hotel. Their father's death seemed a sore spot, which Ginny never touched.

"Ginny, have you written your family lately?" Angela asked before taking a bite of her burger. Ginny was just getting used to burgers and French fries being such a big thing here in America.

"Not since I first came here. Jasmine took me to the local owl post, but international rates are so outrageous, and I've wanted to save my money until I knew I had a means of earning more."

"You could have used my owl," this coming from the ten-year-old Tyler.

"Thanks, buddy, but that's a little far for Ruddy to fly."

"Well, then I think we ought to be getting you an owl that will be able to fly that far," Angela said with a grin of satisfaction. "You know, we still need to give you a gift for getting the job."

That next Sunday- at the Burrow

"Ronald, can't you help Hermione put away the dishes?" Molly was exasperated by her son's laziness, and couldn't help but think of how Ginny would be so willing to do the dishes with her. Ron got up and went into the kitchen, with Harry following feeling as though he should participate in the cleaning as well.

Molly sat down and had just barely put her feet up when a medium sized reddish brown owl came through the open window. She figured it must be Fred and George sending their excuses to why they didn't come to family dinner tonight with one of their many delivery owls. She went to grab a owl treat, exchanged it for the letter, before ever noticing that the handwriting was too neat to be either Fred or George's.

Molly ripped the letter open, and upon seeing who it was from let out a wail of joy. "Arthur! Arthur! Ginny wrote to us! ARTHUR!" Everyone came running into the living room after hearing her scream this out. Bill and Charlie stood by the fireplace, Hermione took a seat in the rocking chair with Ron standing behind, his hands on her shoulders. Harry didn't know where to place himself. He was so shocked by the letter that he just stood in the door way to the kitchen. Percy found his way to the couch and Arthur took the letter from Molly's shaking hands. Her eyes were tearing so badly that she would have never been able to read it.

"Dear Mum, Dad, Ron, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Hermione, and Harry," Arthur began. Harry smiled at the fact that she at least remembered him in her address. "Sorry it's taken so long for me to write to you. The family I've been staying with has an owl that's worse than Errol. Well, it's really just retired to being a family pet, instead of a reliable source of communication. Mrs. Putnam got me one of my own that would be able to travel across seas as a congratulations on my new job! Yes, I finally got a job! I didn't realize that it would be so difficult here, but I am working for an Interior Designer. She's a muggle, but she seems nice enough. I know how to use a telephone and everything now, so I'll be able to show dad sometime. The Putnams have become like a second family to me, but this time, I'm the oldest sibling. You don't have to worry though, I would never torture them the way I was. Hope everything is going well at the Burrow. I send everyone my love. Ginny."

When Arthur finished reading this, there was silence for the next few minutes. Bill was the first to say anything. "Ginny sounds like she's happy."


	6. Ginny the designer

Thanks to all who have reviewed, you encourage me to write more quickly!  
  
Kitten530: I'm glad you like it, and Ginny can DEFINITELY take care of herself, she just wants to prove it to everyone, especially herself, right now.  
  
FlamezFlyer: Thanks for putting me on your author alert list, I won't let you down, I will write often. I want to be in Interior design as well, but she's going to get more into it. Hehehe I have plans.  
  
JamieBell: My first reviewer wipes away tear Thank you for all your comments. I had planned Ginny going across seas from the beginning, so sorry I couldn't grant the request of 'not too far away'. I'll keep posting, and thanks for the plug on your story!  
  
Chapter 6- Ginny the designer  
  
Bill, Charlie, and Percy helped their parents write a combined letter to Ginny telling her about everything that had been happening since she'd left. Ron and Hermione were devising one of their own.  
  
This left Harry to himself. He decided that perhaps he could persuade Ginny to come back, or at least he really hoped he could. He found the Burrow empty without her there. True, Ron was there, and the rest were practically family to him, but Ron was always preoccupied with Hermione, these days, and the rest of the Weasleys just couldn't make up for Ginny's absence.  
  
Harry got out a piece of parchment and began to write.  
  
Dear Ginny,  
  
It sounds like you're doing well for yourself in America. There's been a lot going on here. I'll let you in on a little secret. Ron bought Hermione a ring, but I don't know if he's given it to her yet. I don't even know if he knows that I know, you know? So keep it on the down low until you hear about it from them, or else I could be dead meat.  
  
Auror classes are going well. A lot of the students have wondered where you went. Don't worry, I didn't tell them about what happened. Oh, and guess who finally got a spot in the first year program? Colin Creevy! He wanted me to tell you hi, and that he misses you.  
  
Ginny, we all miss you. I know Brian was being a jerk, but I promise I won't let him near you again, unless you want. Please come home.  
  
Harry  
  
Harry received his own letter one week later.  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
I didn't leave because of Brian. I'm sorry you had to see that, but I can't come home, not yet.  
  
Ginny  
  
Ginny had been working for Sophie Stevens for nearly two months. She didn't have a lot to do. Just answer phones, take messages, submit orders for furniture and fabrics, and make Sophie her coffee. It wasn't too bad, except her boss was a complete twit! Ms. Stevens was demanding, cocky, rude, and impatient, and she was worse when she wasn't talking to a costumer. 'Well, no wonder she's not married,' Ginny often thought to herself.  
  
Ginny usually had a lot of free time on her hands, though, and was allowed to bring a book, or stitch or whatever it was that she felt like doing. Many of these times, she would pick up the decorating books and magazines that Sophie would use. Ginny was starting to get ideas of how she would decorate rooms, and she would sketch them out on paper, and just keep them for her own enjoyment.  
  
One afternoon, a lady by the name of Ariel King came in to talk with Ms. Stevens about a guest bedroom she wanted decorated. Ginny had been looking at Decor magazine. Ariel seemed to be getting impatient with Sophie's attitude, and didn't like her design at all.  
  
Ginny, who hadn't used her legemency since Brian, decided to see what the polite exterior of this upper class woman was thinking.  
  
'I don't like this at all! Why can't this woman listen to me? I hate the red; I had already told her that. And the curtains! Gross, I want something, not so overbearing. This whole room is too Victorian. I wanted more contemporary furniture, and I didn't want that stupid armoire.'  
  
Ginny continued to listen to these thoughts, and as she did she started sketching the ideas on the notepad in front of her. Nearly twenty minutes later, Ariel got up to storm out of the room.  
  
"This is not what I had asked for, Ms. Stevens, and if you can't do what I want, I'll find a designer who can!" She got up and passed Ginny's desk, where she saw the sketch of her own vision. "Did you do this?" She picked up the notebook, and examined the work. Ginny hoped that this lady wasn't a witch or find out that Ginny had been snooping into her own personal thoughts. "Yes, I was just fooling around, though; I know it's not very good-"  
  
"What is your name?"  
  
"Ginny Weasley," Ginny wasn't sure where this was leading.  
  
"Do you do design work?"  
  
"She works for me," a very irritated Sophie stated. "She's my secretary."  
  
"This is between myself and Ms. Weasley, if you don't mind. I believe I told you that you were fired. Now, Ms. Weasley, would you be interested in doing this room for me?"  
  
At that moment, it was hard to tell which was more shocked, Ginny or Sophie.  
  
"You can't take my employee away from me! She works for me Mrs. King."  
  
"I believe that's up to Ginny to decide, Ms. Stevens, and I would gladly allow her to work for me in the evenings. Ginny?"  
  
"I don't know what to say. I'm flattered by your offer. I'd love to help you out, and I could do it after work and on weekends."  
  
"Ginny Weasley! If you so much as allow her use of your design I will fire you!"  
  
"Oh good, I'll pay you double whatever she's paying you, and have you decorate mine and my husband summer home in Concord."  
  
Ginny, who had had such a hard time finding a job in the first place, didn't know what to do. She now had two women fighting over who would be her employer. It wasn't too difficult for Ginny to decide on which to choose; pushy, irritable, rude Shauna or someone who admired her work and wanted to pay her double. Not to mention let her pick her own hours and have leeway to do whatever she wanted.  
  
"Sorry, Ms. Stevens, but I think I'll be giving you my two weeks notice."  
  
"What?!" Sophie couldn't believe this was happening. This was the third secretary in five months! (Sophie wasn't very good at taking hints) Not to mention, this one was taking HER job! "No, you're out today!"  
  
This was just fine with Ginny.  
  
Three months later, Ginny found herself in a large summer home that she had designed, decorated, and put together entirely on her own. It was amazing the success she felt at this. She had brought the Putnams by to see the house. They were thoroughly impressed at what they had seen.  
  
"How much of this was done with magic?" Jasmine prodded.  
  
"Well, I knew how to sew with a muggle machine, because of a class I took in school. Any of the heavy work I'd use it. I painted with magic, that made it go a lot quicker, but sometimes I had to do it the muggle way when the Kings were around."  
  
The Kings had been very good to Ginny. Mr. King owned a restaurant chain in the New York area, and they were happily retired in Massachusetts. She had found out that the Kings had five children, three of which were married with children already. There were nine grandchildren, and so a few of the rooms in the summer home were decorated by those terms.  
  
Ginny had used legemency whenever talking to Mrs. King so that the designs would always suit her well. She found that many times Ariel was too kind to say exactly what was on her mind. This was because Mrs. King liked Ginny, and didn't want to offend her by declining her ideas. It was lucky for the Kings, however, that Ginny really did know what they would like.  
  
It was also because of all her good ideas, and that Ginny worked with others so well, that Brigham King, Ariel's husband, offered to help her start her own design business, and he would only ask a small commission. Ginny had accepted this offer, and had her first costumer meeting that next Tuesday.  
  
Ginny realized that she had been gone from home and family for nearly six months now. She couldn't believe it had gone so quickly. She was thinking on this as they took the Yankee Bus (the American Wizarding version of the Knight Bus) home.  
  
When they arrived Ginny had two letters waiting for her. The first was from Hermione.  
  
Ginny,  
  
We finally made the official date for the wedding. It's going to be on June 14th and I was hoping you'd be my maid of Honor? Can you make it at that time? How is work going on the house you're decorating? Hope all is well.  
  
Love, Hermione  
  
P.S. Harry still hasn't gotten over you.  
  
Ginny just rolled her eyes. It had been a good nine months since Hermione had mentioned this supposed crush Harry had, and Ginny still thought she was full of it. Not to mention that after Brian, Ginny really didn't trust any guys. When ever Mrs. Putnam, or Mrs. King would set her up on a date, the first thing she would do was read their thoughts.  
  
Most of the wizards she went out with didn't keep up their guard. They probably didn't think she'd be able to read their minds, let alone try to do so. There was one thing Ginny found among wizards and muggle men alike, they were all perverts. It's not that she didn't think about guys in a 'more than friends' manner every now and again, but she was not interested in anyone who didn't like her for her. It did make it easier that Weasley name had no influence, but she was far from anyone that was shallow.  
  
None the less, Hermione's post script was still on her mind when she opened her second letter. This one was from Harry.  
  
Hey Ginny,  
  
How are things going? You giving those Yankees hell? I was just writing to tell you about an Alumni Quiditch tournament Dumbledore talked about forming. I thought it'd be fun to form a team, and sign up. I've already recruited Fred and George for the Beaters. Ron's going to be on his honeymoon, and Oliver is going to be in season already, so he can't come, but I did get Elisa Kilburn to be our keeper. If you don't remember she graduated two years before me from Hufflepuff. Then Angelina, Luna, and hopefully you for the chasers.  
  
The tournament starts on the 21st of June (one week after the wedding) and will last for about four days, depending how far we get. I'm not entirely convinced that Hermione didn't set the date so that she wouldn't have to endure the worry that Ron might get hurt. Please reply back soon. Oh, and I'm covering the charge of entering the contest. The proceeds are going to St. Mungo's. Do you have any ideas on what kind of robes we should wear? I don't want to go with Gryffindor colors, because we have a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw joining us. Hope to hear from you soon.  
  
Harry  
  
Ginny thought about it and decided she'd be able to take off three weeks for the wedding and the tournament. Hermione had invited the Putnams and so they were all planning on going there anyways. She wondered why he had asked her, though. He could have asked Katie Bell, or Alicia Spinnet. She shook it out of her mind and wrote Harry back.  
  
She then took a piece of blank parchment and sketched out a great design for Quiditch robes. She colored it with black, blue and red. This gave a color from each house that were participating on their team. She folded this with the letter, and gave it to Big Red. (That's what she named her owl when Jasmine told her about a muggle gum called that.)  
  
It wasn't until Big Red had already left that she realized, she had never written a response to Hermione.  
  
"How could I forget?" Ginny reprimanded herself for this, and decided that she would just get Hermione's number and call on the telephone.


	7. Midnight Quidditch

I finally got around to revising this, sorry I messed up so bad!

BTW I'm new to this whole deal, so how do you get formatting exactly how you want it? It always turns out different than I set it before uploading, and how do you turn the anonymous review thing off?

Chapter 7- Midnight Quidditch

It didn't seem like very long before June was coming up. Angela had made Ginny's dress by Hermione's specification. The other two bridesmaids were both cousins of Hermione's and they all had matching dresses in different colors. Since this was half a muggle wedding, there were going to be limos that took the wedding party from the chapel that Ron and Hermione had decided for the ceremony, to the Burrow for the reception.

"This will be interesting," Ginny said.

"What's that?" Jasmine inquired.

"My dad, around a whole lot of muggles. Not to mention, they are probably hiding all the magic in our house, which is quite a feat, on top of Mum cooking the muggle way."

"Aren't they hiring a caterer?" 

"Yeah, you're probably right. Her parents are dentists, after all. Not to mention that since Muggle rights has become a large priority in the Ministry, my dad got a large promotion."

"I'm so excited Ginny, I've never seen London."

"Well, then we'll have loads of fun!"

After finding out that Ginny hadn't seen her family in nearly ten months, Mr. King insisted that she take a full month off, or he would pull the deal. That meant she would be there to help the last two and a half weeks of preparations for the wedding, and then for the charity Quidditch match. Not to mention, he was paying for not only her costs, but for the Putnam's as well. 

Since Jasmine and Tyler were done with school in May, they would all leave at the same time. Tyler was excited about the Quidditch more than anything else. American wizards had their own game, but Tyler was a big fan of the Chudley Cannons.

"Will we get to see them? Huh, Ginny? Are the Chudley Cannons gonna be there?"

"Sorry, Tyler, the players are all old Hogwarts students, but I'm pretty sure my older brother Ron had Chudley Cannon posters he can't use anymore." Somehow Ginny doubted that Hermione would allow their entire house to be covered in orange. 

"Do you think I'll be a chaser like you, Ginny?" 

Ginny liked being looked up to. "I don't know, Tyler, I think you've got the arm of a beater."

"That's because I play baseball. Do you think I'll go to Hogwarts?"

"Now why would you want to do that when there's a school just outside of town?"

"So I can play quidditch." Tyler then ran off to go practice flying in their large backyard.

Ginny didn't see how it would be possible, but she did hope that Tyler could go to Hogwarts. If he were to go, he would get a letter this summer. Maybe she could put in a word with Professor Dumbledore. 

Their Portkey to London left at 6am on May 25th from Salem and would arrive in London at 6:10 pm (because of the time difference). They would then take the Knight bus to the Burrow. They got a late start and almost missed their portkey. 

They were rushed by a multitude of family when they arrived, Molly taking lead of course. "Oh Ginny! Ginny, it's so good to see my girl again! Mrs. Putnam?" 

"Oh, no, please call me Angela."

"Thank you for taking care of her."

"Quite the opposite, Molly, she's been a huge help and pleasure to have in my home."

Molly escorted Angela into the house as Fred and George came barreling at Ginny. "Hey! Fred, do you think this is really our baby sister, or an imposter?"

"Hard to say, George, my good man, perhaps it is up to a test."

"A test? I do say that is a brilliant idea, brother of mine."

"But first, Ginny, or so you say, would you like a toffee."

"No way," Ginny stepped away from them.

"Good job, you pass."

"Can I have one?" Came a small, uncharacteristically shy voice from the small blond haired boy behind Ginny.

"Sure," from Fred

"No!" Ginny shouted and snatched the ton tongue toffee away from him. 

She then went into the house to be greeted by her father, Bill, Charlie, and Percy. 

"Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"They're over at Ron and Harry's. They'll be here any minute now."

Ginny didn't know why, but just the mention of Harry's name made her blush. They sat around talking until the trio showed up for dinner.

"Ginny!" Hermione squealed with joy, and gave her a tight hug.

Ron followed and whispered in Ginny's ear, "we've missed you, sis, all of us." That of course brought back the memory of Hermione's letter.

Next came Harry. He said nothing, just looked at her with a smile that could have broken her heart. Ginny decided to make the 'move' on this one. "How've you been, Harry?" She extended her hand very formally, and he grabbed it between both of his own.

"Not bad." Harry did something, then, that made Ginny blush once more. He leaned over, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. 

Ginny tried to recover from this. 'It's because he's your friend' she kept telling herself, but Hermione's voice persisted to nag her in the back of her mind.

The rest of the evening was filled with fun and games, as Fred and George showed Tyler some of their jokes, Angelina and Molly chatting over tea and coffee, each to their own, Arthur asking about all the muggle things Ginny had learned, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, and Percy talking about the probability of Quidditch teams winning (with an intent Tyler listening), and Ron, Hermione, and Harry telling Jasmine all about Hogwarts while she told them of her school. 

At nearly nine o'clock they all went up the stairs to find their sleeping arrangements. Mrs. Putnam told Tyler and Jasmine they had to go to bed, but since Ginny was old enough, she decided to stay up. Not to mention it was only nine am in the morning where she had been living, so Ginny was far from tired. Instead, she decided to take a walk through the garden.

Ginny stood in the mist of what, as a child, she used to pretend was a deep dark forest, that had unicorns, and dragons, and other such magical creatures. She started to laugh out loud at these memories.

"What's so funny?" came a familiar voice from behind her.

"Oh, nothing, just thinking," Ginny responded back to Harry. She sighed, "can home be in two places at once?"

Harry thought about this for a moment. "Sure it can. That is if home is where the people you love are." 

"I just don't know, Harry. I grew up here, I loved it here, but now," she let out a breath, "I love Salem to. I almost feel guilty." She added as an after thought.

"Why's that?" Harry turned to her. 'God, she's beautiful,' he said to himself.

"Because the Putnams are like a second family to me, and it might seem like I'm trying to replace my life here."

"Isn't that why it's called a second family though? Not a replacement family?"

"I suppose."

"How about instead of feeling guilty, feel … blessed, to have so much family. Look at me, I grew up around my aunt, uncle, and cousin, but I didn't meet my family until I was eleven years old."

"I'm sorry, Harry, you're right. I shouldn't be complaining to you after all you've had to-"

"You don't need to apologize, Ginny, you never need to apologize to me." He took a step into her.

"So," Ginny tore her eyes away from his. "What happened with dear old Brian after I left? Did he even bother looking for me?"

"Yeah, he kept asking your family, me, and the ministry. I guess he figured you would have told one of us, but by the time we even found out, he had given up. Don't worry though, we wouldn't have told him."

Ginny merely shook her head. "I didn't even know where I was going until I got there. Then I was afraid one of my older brothers would try to come get me if I gave an exact location during that first letter. I wanted to be established before telling them, so that they wouldn't worry."

"Understandable. It was nice to finally get letters from you. I think your mum nearly fainted with the first one."

Ginny laughed. "You're kidding me!"

"Nope, you should have heard her. I think she was the most upset when she found out you left."

"Do you know who found the note?"

"I gave it to your dad after I told them what had happened."

"You told them?" Harry couldn't tell if she was upset about this or not.

"I just told them that you were upset, and left. Brian was gone by the time they came back. Probably off licking his wounds."

"Oh, come on, I didn't hit him that hard." 

"No, but I did." Ginny looked at Harry with a big smile on her face, and let out a good laugh.

"Serves him right. What did he say to you?"

"Oh, nothing you don't know about already."

There was silence for a moment. "Harry?"

"Yeah."

"I did something that caused that, that I'm not sure was right to do."

"What is that?"

"I used legemency."

"Without him knowing it?" Harry was shocked.

"Well, I never told you this, but I can use it without my wand."

"Really? That's impressive." He considered for a moment the dilemma. "Do you regret knowing the truth?"

"No, I'm glad I found out, but part of me thinks it's unethical. I use it now, to find out what people want when I'm decorating for them, and, other times." 

"What do you mean 'other times'," Harry looked at her again.

"When I go on dates, I like to know the guys intentions, and what he thinks, you know? I don't trust them anymore. Some go out with me because they think I'm an easy catch, others because they know I have money, or as a favor to whoever set me up on the date. Never because they think I'm nice, or because I'm fun to be around. I don't know, maybe my expectations are too high."

"No, you should wait until you find that, you deserve it." 

If Ginny could have read his mind right then, she would have found exactly what she was looking for in a boyfriend. Somehow, though, she sensed that anyways. Unfortunately there were thoughts of how Brian had hurt her, and what other guys had thought, and she decided against letting herself feel any hope toward that.

Ginny jerked her mind away from all of this, and changed the subject. "I'm nervous about the tournament."

"Why? You were one of the best chasers Hogwarts had seen."

"No I wasn't, thank you though. Not to mention I haven't practiced in almost a year."

"Well, let's practice then."

"Now?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Harry, it's like, ten o'clock."

"Actually, it's closer to one, but I'm not tired, what about you?"

"Not really, I'm still on American time."

"Then let's get some brooms."

Ginny looked down at her clothes, "Harry, I can't fly in this."

"Oh good point," he said as they made their way into the family room, "I guess I 

should be giving you these, then."

Harry pulled out a quidditch robes bearing the colors of black, blue and red. They were an exact prototype of the robes that Ginny herself had designed. She grabbed an edge of the soft fabric and grinned.

"We had a team meeting, and it was unanimous that these would be our robes, that is unless you count Fred and George, who opted to go on the pitch in our underwear."

"Figures," Ginny rolled her eyes, and then stared back at the brand new robe in Harry's hands. "How much do I owe you for this?"

"Not a sickle."

"Harry, I have plenty of money, now, you don't have to-"

"I want to, besides, I got one for each team member. Here, let's get started on practicing." Harry handed Ginny the robe, and met her outside.

They began by doing the passing routines. Harry would throw Ginny the ball from several positions; over her, under, to the right or left, from in front, and behind. Ginny got back up to par pretty quickly, so they moved on to goals. Harry played keeper. Ginny hurt his pride a bit by getting the quaffle through every time.

"See, you're doing just fine," Harry encouraged as they went inside at four in the morning.

"No offence Harry, but even Goyle could've gotten the quaffle past you."

"Ouch, Gin, that hurt." Harry held a hand over his chest, and faked a pained expression. 

"Sorry, but I can't tell a lie." Ginny started to laugh.

As she was doubled over, Harry picked her up, cradled her in his arms, and threw her onto the couch. Then he commenced with his truly evil plan…torture by tickling!

"Stop! Harry! Stop it!" Ginny was yelling. Harry stopped and put a hand over Ginny's mouth.

"Quiet, or you'll wake them all up!" Harry tried to give her a stern look, but couldn't help himself as he started laughing, without knowing why.

They both laughed there on the couch for a while and slowly came to a hault. Ginny yawned. "Okay, now I'm tired."

"Yeah, me too. We had a lot of investigations today."

"Investigations for what?" Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's been two years for me, I got a job as an auror nearly a month ago.

"Oh," Ginny looked away. "I sort of missed out on that one."

"You've been busy, though. Not to mention with Ron's wedding and all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, I better set up the couch."

"Why?" 

"I don't want to wake anyone up, so I think I'll just sleep down here. I'm sure you can get into Ron's room without waking him up. He still sleeps like a rock, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, and he still snores too. Would it be alright if I stayed down here? I'll sleep on the floor."

"No, you can have the couch, I can find somewhere else." The next ten minutes continued with an argument about who would sleep on the couch.

"No, Harry, I-I-I insist," Ginny said stifling a yawn. She laid her head on his shoulder. "You're the guest here, and-"

"Come on, Gin, I can, can, uh," Harry was losing his track of thought.

Needless to say, a very rambunctious eleven year old found them asleep on the couch the next morning.


	8. Elizabeth the Snooty

Chapter 8- Elizabeth the snooty

It was lucky for Harry and Ginny that Tyler didn't see things in the way any other person in the house would. Unfortunately for Harry and Ginny, though, this meant that they only had another thirty seconds to sleep.

"Ginny," Tyler prodded her. "Ginny?"

"What Tyler?" It took Ginny a moment to realize that she was lying in Harry's arms. She sat straight up. A moment later, Harry was doing the same.

"Can you show me Quidditch now?" It was then that Tyler noticed Ginny's robes. "Wow! Are those Quidditch robes?" His eyes were now popping out of his head.

"Yes they are, and I have one for you too," Harry stated with a satisfied grin. He reached into his bag and pulled one out in Tyler's size. "Now, go get changed, and we'll go play."

"Thanks! This is sweet!" Tyler ran off to change.

Harry was still trying to figure out what Tyler had meant by 'sweet' when Ginny finally found her voice. "Harry, you really didn't have to do that." She was astounded at how giving Harry was.

"Well, after hearing that he's a fellow Quidditch fan, I couldn't help writing to Angela and find out what his measurements were. Now, I'm going to grab some coffee and my broom, and teach that deprived American the real wizarding sport." He had a sly grin on when he stood up to head toward the kitchen.

Ginny followed him. "Aren't you tired though? I mean, it couldn't have been too comfortable, me using you as a pillow."

"No, it was perfect," Harry all of the sudden became very interested in the mug of coffee. "Besides, Tyler wants to play."

"Tyler can wait," Ginny smiled at him. She knew that Harry was always doing things for other people, but this was all very unexpected.

Tyler came in at that point, all ready, but pouting at the same time. "What's wrong Ty? Doesn't it fit." Ginny couldn't imagine what was eating at him when he had someone who not only gave him robes, but was going to play Quidditch at six o'clock in the morning after being up nearly all night.

"I forgot my broom, so I can't play."

Harry smiled at Ginny, "I'll be right back." Harry disapprated and two minutes later came back holding a brand new racing broom.

"Wow! I've never seen one of these!" Tyler took the broom when it was handed to him.

"It's called a Rival Flight, we'll be marketing them soon, here in England."

"Thanks," with that, he ran outside to try out the new product.

"We?" Ginny was confused.

"Draco and me."

"You and... what? When did you two start working together?"

"Oh, we still don't get along by any means, but I had ideas on how to make a better broom, and he had the financing."

"You could have financed it."

"Yeah, but I would have emptied my vault, not to mention that he did have some good ideas on improving the broom, even though I hate to admit it."

"We better go out there before Tyler kills himself with a bludger, or something."

For most of the morning, the rest of the household slept in while Harry helped Tyler learn to get a better grasp on his broom, and understand the finer points of Quidditch. Ginny sat on the sides, for the most part, just watching the interaction between her adopted younger brother, and one of her best friends.

Harry also looked very handsome up on the broom, passing the quaffle back and forth with the clumsy Tyler. By the end of their session, Molly had finished brunch, and the rest of both families were seated at the extended table placed in the garden.

"Ginny, Tyler! There you are! Where have you been?" Molly questioned when she saw them coming around the corner, in sight of the garden.

"Just showing Tyler the greatest sport in the world, Mum," She gave Molly a kiss on the cheek, and sat down next to Fred and George. Tyler sat next to Angela and started telling her all about as fast as he could. Harry took the seat next to Ron, and across from Ginny, most importantly across from Ginny.

"What do you think?" Ginny came into her room to show Hermione the final product of the bridesmaid's dress.

"Gorgeous, thank you, Angela, for making it." Hermione gave Angela a hug, and went back to taking in every angle of Ginny in the dress.

"It was no problem at all," Angela was pleased of Hermione's approval. "I must go check on Tyler, make sure he isn't making Harry and Ron play Quidditch all day."

She left Ginny's room and they could hear footsteps making their way down the stairs. "Oh, it's good to be here. I'm so excited for the wedding, you must be dying of anticipation." Ginny sat down on the bed, while Hermione took the chair in front of the desk.

"Yeah, I can't believe we waited so long, but we wanted to get married when Ron could get time off."

"So, what can I do to help?"

"You can go out with Harry." Hermione didn't look Ginny in the eye.

It took Ginny minutes to regain use of her tongue. "What? How is that going to help?"

"Ginny, I haven't seen Harry this happy since before you even started to date Brian. I really think this is more than just a crush. Every time I even mention you, he asks what I've heard. He's always at work to keep himself busy, and, from what Ron says, he reads your owls at least ten times a day until he gets the next. You know he was going to ask you on a date the night you introduced us all to Brian."

"He was a bloody waste of time." Ginny looked down with an expression of hatred.

"Yes, he was, but that's not your fault. It was Harry's for not asking you out sooner. He wanted to ask you out the entire summer before that."

"Really?" Ginny was baffled at being told all of this.

"Yeah, really. You should have seen how excited he was to learn that you would be on his team." Hermione looked down at her watch. "We're late to meeting my parents. You'll get to meet my cousins, if you want to come with me."

"Sure," Ginny said, trying to let everything sink in."

Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry (since Harry was his best man) took Harry's car to the Grangers. They arrived around three o'clock in the afternoon and Hermione's family was already seated and waiting to discuss what would be happening.

"This is Ginny, everyone. Ginny these are my cousins Elizabeth and Christine, my Aunt Jeannie and Uncle Tristan, and you know my mum and dad." Ginny shook everyone's hands in turn.

They all then started to discuss things that needed to be taken care of. After they were all finished discussing the ceremony, and reception accommodations and such, the 'adults' all went to take tea in the kitchen. Harry and Ron were in a corner talking of who knows what.

Hermione went to bring tea out into the living room. Elizabeth took this oppertunity. "Hi, Ginny, is it?"

"Yes?" Ginny smiled in a friend-like manner.

"I'm just wondering, Hermione mentioned that you're single?"

"Yes I am," Ginny was getting very confused at where this was heading.

"Well, I thought I'd let you know that Harry over there, he's mine." Ginny then realized that Hermione had mentioned more than the fact that Ginny was single.

"What makes you think that?"

"Oh, he will be soon enough. It's just that Hermione thought that you might get in the way of that. But you don't think it's very fair that you had a chance with him and ran away, now do you?"

"First of all, I'm not planning on 'getting in the way' with anyone Harry wants to date," Ginny put an emphasis on 'Harry wants'. "Second, I didn't run away, as you might have taken it, I took a different course in life."

"Call it whatever you like, Red, but he's mine, so you'd better lay off."

"Fine, but just so you remember, it's the maid of honor that dances with the best man." Ginny just glared for a moment, then decided to change the subject. "I wasn't sure whether or not you had any plans, but I was hoping we could throw Hermione a bridal shower."

"No, we hadn't talked about that," Elizabeth felt a little ashamed that she hadn't thought of this matter before now. Christine had just joined in and seemed excited at planning another party.

For the rest of the evening Elizabeth and Ginny were civil to one another while making plans for a surprise bridal shower. Christine really liked Ginny, even if her sister did not. Ginny liked Christine as well, and was glad to find out that Christine was the same age as Jasmine. She knew that they would get along very well. Elizabeth, however, was a year older than Ginny, which was the same age as Harry. Ginny, after they had made arrangements with Kathryn Granger to hold the party Friday, noticed how shamelessly Elizabeth would flirt with Harry.

"So, what have you been doing this weekend?"

"Just spending some time at the Weasley's house." Harry was very short and to the point with Elizabeth, but she still couldn't take the hint.

"Oh," was all she could say. Later, though, Ginny heard Elizabeth asking her mother if she could go spend some time at the Weasleys.

* * *

A/N: Just to let you all know the Rival Flight idea was yet another roommate thing, she has a better concept of what it is, I portray it as another broom, but it's more of a surfing board type 'broom'. It was also her idea to have Draco and Harry work on it together, and I sort of stole it for this bit, but she might want to use it in some of her stories. If you want check out some of her stuff. It's great! Her screen name here is Crescent Lovegood.


	9. Confessions of the Heart

First I must thank JamieBell for helping me out so much! You're an angel!

Thank you to primate_toosh (munkie_butt) for giving me your imput, and for pointing out the problem with chapter 5. 

Also FYI my fingers weren't agreeing with me in the chapter that I called Mrs. Putnam Angelina, but I fixed it, so it should all be okay now.

Ally pirate; thank you for your reviews. They are encouraging, and make me want to write more quickly.

If I forgot anyone, sorry, but thank you for reviewing and letting me know what you think!

Last, if you haven't noticed, I have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing with this one, so I'm trying to post at least every other day, or so. That's why when some of you get on there are two or three new chapters. Sorry if you don't like it that way, but I know I hate having to wait forever for a new chapter on a story I like, so I try for ya'll!

Chapter 9- Confessions of the heart

            The rest of the week went rather smoothly at the Burrow. Fleur had finally been able to come. Jeanette, Bill's and Fleur's six month old baby girl had been sick for a couple of weeks, so Fleur had been staying home to help her get better before taking her anywhere. Of course, after their arrival on Thursday, that was almost all Ginny and Jasmine paid attention to. Fleur was happy to get a break, and Bill was satisfied with the admiration shown for his baby girl.

            The bridal shower went well. All the girls that had attended Hogwarts with Hermione were able to attend. Hermione was completely surprised and they all had a blast turning her face red with revealing undergarments and games that brought up rather… personal things in Ron and Hermione's relationship.

            The most interesting part of it all, though, was during the clean up. Ron, Harry, and Bill had all offered to come help clean up after the party, since it had to be done the muggle way. Christine and Jasmine had hit it off right away, just as Ginny had expected, and she was once again alone with Elizabeth.

            "I saw you flirting with him," Elizabeth accused.

            "We're friends, you know, when you talk and all that. Just because you're throwing yourself at him doesn't mean that I will." Ginny smiled at out doing Elizabeth, because the silly girl couldn't even think of a response to come back with. "You know, it might help if you actually got to know him first." After she stated this, Ginny couldn't believe she had said it. Was she actually trying to help her? 

No, it was more said in spite, but Elizabeth took this as a challenge, and spent the rest of the time while they were there talking to Harry. To Ginny, it appeared to be working. She just watched from a distance, and gradually became more and more distraught in his apparent interest in the conversation. _He might just be being polite_, Ginny tried to convince herself.

After a half an hour, Elizabeth and Harry were still talking. Ginny felt a little taken back by this, but she tried not to let it bother her. _Maybe I can just see what he thinks about it. Maybe I don't have any reason to worry at all._ She had never gone up against such a strong mind before, and she didn't know what kind of an effect it would have. Ginny took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, concentrated, and tried to read Harry's mind. 

For a moment, she thought it was working, she saw a picture of what he was thinking of, but it was very unclear, just a figure of a girl. This was a far as she got before feeling a blinding pain in her own head. Before she knew it she couldn't feel anything, and all there was, was darkness.

***

Harry's POV

            Harry had been talking to Elizabeth for a half an hour. _Is that it? _He thought _it seems like it's been an eternity. _Despite the fact that he had no interest in Elizabeth, Harry had to admit that this conversation was a whole lot more comfortable. She actually seemed genuinely interested in what was happening, and not how she could get him to kiss her. However much of an improvement this was, Harry felt that she was droning on and on. So his mind began to wander. It wandered in the same direction his eyes seemed to be taking lately, straight to Ginny. 

            It was so nice to have her back, and Harry didn't want that to end. He was gaining a picture of her in his mind when he heard a scream coming from the other end of the room.

            He turned to see that Ginny had her head in her hands, and looked pale and pained greatly. At that moment, he didn't even bother to excuse himself, but was off to Ginny's side. 

            "Ginny?!" He knelt next to her and tried to look up into her face. She was violently shaking. "Ginny, can you hear me? Ginny!"  By this point, everyone was gathered around. It was only seconds later that Ginny collapsed from the pain into a dead faint. Harry, being the closest, felt for a pulse, and when he had found it, took her up into his arms, to carry her out into the car. 

            He placed her limp body in the back seat, and turned to see Kathryn, Bill, Jasmine, Christine, Hermione, and Ron right behind them. He could only assume that Lynol (Hermione's dad) was calming things down in the house. "I think she's just been very stressed lately. I'll take her home, and I'm sure Molly will be able to get her to wake up very soon. I'll send Hedwig when I have more news. Jasmine, do you want to come with?"

            Jasmine nodded. Christine was there, practically holding her up. "Ron, Hermione, Bill?"

            "No I think we'd better stay," Hermione stated with a look of distress. "Ginny shouldn't be crowded."

            "And I'll catch the bus," Bill said indiscreetly, and started walking down the street. Harry figured that Bill would just apparate when he had gone far enough out of sight and tell Molly of what had happened

            _Good,_ Harry thought, knowing what kind of reaction would be received if he just started carrying in Ginny, looking dead. Harry got into the car, started the engine, and got back to the Burrow as quickly as he could.

***

Ginny's POV

            Ginny slowly began to regain consciousness. Her eyes started to open, and for a moment, she was very confused. She had been placed in her bed, but the last thing she remembered was being at the Grangers. _I must be going crazy_, were her first thoughts. She turned over on her side, to see a concerned Harry at her bedside.

            "Ginny, are you alright?" His eyes were slightly red, and a bit swollen.

            "Yeah, just a bit of a headache." It was coming back to her, and she was ashamed of herself for even trying to read his thoughts.

            "Here," Harry handed Ginny a glass of water and a glass of potion that her mother had made upon hearing what had happened. "Drink it all, it should go away rather quickly." _Thank God that you're okay_, Harry thought, as he watched his favorite red head drink from both cups to their fullest. "What happened?"

            "I don't think you want to know."

            "Sure I do, just tell me. You can trust me."

            Ginny didn't know how she could trust him, though. Before now she had a test that she could use to make sure about how a guy was reacting. On the other hand, all that the test proved was that they were a bunch of jerks and perverts. What did that say about Harry though? Ginny knew that he wasn't like most guys, but she couldn't access his thoughts to prove her own self doubt wrong.

            "Promise you won't get angry with me?" 

            "Promise."

            "Okay, then, I- I, uh. I was trying to see what you were thinking." She looked down in shame.

            Harry was shocked that his Occlumency could have such an effect, and he also felt guilty for causing her pain. Then he went back to what Ginny had told him less than a week ago. '_…when I go on dates, I like to see what the guys intentions are…" _ Could this mean that she was interested in him? Did she return his affections?

            "Please don't get mad at me, I didn't mean to do it to hurt you, and well I didn't see anythi-"

            "It's okay, really. Why were you trying to read my mind anyways?"

            "I don't know. I just wanted to see what you thought about Elizabeth, and all of that." She could feel herself turning red, and cursed herself inside.

            "I think Elizabeth is rude, obnoxious and spoiled. In fact she'd get along well with Dudley."

            "Oh, well I'm sorry, none the less."

            "Don't be," Harry smiled over at her, and, for once in his life, let impulse take over. He leaned over and kissed Ginny lightly and pulled away before either of them really knew what had happened.

***

The Wedding day

            Harry and Ginny began to avoid one another in the following time preceding the wedding. Neither had talked about the kiss they had shared. _I can't believe that I'm nearly twenty years old, and I'm still embarrassed about kissing a girl!_ Harry scolded himself every time he felt himself blush when they made eye contact. 

            Ginny had been acting equally strange, and didn't know what to do about it. The week prior to the wedding was a lot of work. The Burrow looked spectacular, though. Molly had invoked Ginny's help in doing some long standing decorating ideas she had had. It took all of the Weasley boys, Molly, Arthur, Ginny, and Harry to fix the architecture of the lopsided house. By the time it was done, the Burrow looked to be a mansion, and Molly was near tears. 

Two days before the reception was to take place, the family took to freezing all of the pictures, de-gnomeing the garden, and hiding all other traces of magic. Ginny was right in thinking this would be a challenge. Even with Angela helping out it took five hours to accomplish. 

The day of the wedding had finally arrived. Hermione was so thrilled. Ginny had spent the morning at the Grangers, where Hermione's entire family was getting ready. All the girls (including Elizabeth and Christine) all went to get their hair, nails, and toes done at a salon. Jasmine was disappointed at not being able to come, but her mom didn't want her to be a burden, and promised she'd give it all to her with magic before the ceremony.

When they arrived at the chapel that had been selected for the ceremony, they went and all got changed in the restroom. Hermione looked like an angel. She had a dress with sheer angel sleeves, an emperior style waist, and silk roses that lined the waist line. There had to be fifty silk covered buttons going down the back, and Ginny carefully buttoned each one.

"Just look at you," Ginny said when they finally had a moment alone. "You look so beautiful. I think Ron might faint. I can't believe you're marrying my brother."

"Neither can I. Ginny I'm so happy!"

"Good. And if Ron does anything to change that, even in the slightest, he'll have to answer to me."

Hermione turned around, eyes full of tears, and pulled Ginny into a hug. 

That was the last moment Ginny would have with Hermione for the rest of the day. Ginny understood this, but was still a little disappointed. 

When the doors opened for the wedding march to begin, Ginny took a deep breath, and stepped out to the staring eyes. She gave an encouraging smile to her brother before locking eyes with the best man. Ginny couldn't help but look at him, as if this were her wedding instead. It was only when she had to start up the steps that she tore her eyes away from Harry's, yet she could feel that his stare hadn't broken. 

***

The reception

            A muggle DJ had been hired to do the music for the reception, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The twins were making fools of themselves trying to dance, Bill was dancing with the sweet little Jeanette, and Christine and Jasmine were having a blast imitating all sorts of muggle dances from the 60's and 70's. There were many people there sitting on the sides doing nothing at all, and others were mingling with old friends that they hadn't seen in quite some time.

            At the moment, Ginny was catching up with Colin, who she hadn't seen since the previous July.

            "Professor Dunly was always strict, it's not just you Colin." 

            "I know, but I get so flustered, you know? Anyways, enough about the Auror Academy, how's America?"

            "It's wonderful. You've met the Putnams, right?"

            "Yeah, they seem really nice, especially Jasmine." 

            Ginny gave him a look, "Jasmine, huh? How 'nice' do you think she is?"

            "Well," Colin started to blush, "I don't know. She's kind of young for me, but-"

            "Hey, Jasmine!" Ginny shouted across the garden.

            "No, Gin, no," Colin hissed, "Please, Ginny."

            "Don't worry, she won't bite," Ginny said as Jasmine approached.

            "What is it?" Jasmine looked between Colin and Ginny.

            "I just thought I'd introduce you to one of my very good friends. Colin, this is Jasmine, and Jasmine, this is Colin Creevy. He was part of the reason I decided to move, and ended up in Salem."

            "Oh, really?" Jasmine seemed interested in this. "Good to meet you, Colin." Ginny could have been hallucinating, but she was pretty sure she saw Jasmine blush slightly as Colin shook her hand. "Did you go to the same school as Ginny?"

            "Uh, yeah, yeah I did." Colin was starting to loosen up a bit.

            "Well, I have to see if Hermione needs anything, so I'll leave you two to talk." Ginny left with a smirk spread across her face. 

She did as she said, though, and found Hermione rather quickly. "Oh good, here you are," Hermione said before Ginny could even ask. "They'll be playing the first slow song pretty soon, and we need you and Harry to dance a little after we start."

"Oh, okay," Ginny said. _Great, I wonder how this will go_. She had hardly spoken ten words to Harry since the kiss, and now she was going to be dancing with him!

            Ginny decided that she would follow his lead in how to act about the whole situation. Harry came up, and stood right next to her.

            "How are you holding up?"

            "Fine, I suppose. I don't like the idea of having to dance with everyone watching."

            "Yeah, it reminds me of the Yule Ball in my fourth year, but at least it's you I get to dance with."

            Ginny was becoming more comfortable with this situation. "Are you sure you don't want Parvati again? I'm sure Dean wouldn't mind if you stole her for one dance," Ginny teased.

            Harry, staying completely serious, replied back, "I don't want to dance with anyone but you." They smiled at each other.

            _I can't believe I'm falling for him again! How stupid could I be?_ She had been considering the fact that she wasn't sure on how Harry felt or what he thought at all. Not to mention the price to attempt finding out was too high for her. _What if he just likes me for my family?_ That was the only thing that truly bothered her.

            The song 'All I Ask of You' started to play as Hermione and Ron moved closer together. The sun was past setting, and the only lights were candle worked light posts. Harry and Ginny waited for their cue, before going onto the dance floor at the same time as Molly and Arthur, as well as Kathryn and Lynol. 

            They had joined after the first verse. Harry had put one arm around her waist and the other held her hand. Ginny placed her remaining hand on Harry's shoulder, and they started to dance.

**_Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime_**

**_Let me lead you from you solitude._**

**_Say you'll need me with you, here beside you,_**

**_Anywhere you go let me go too…_**

****

            "Ginny?"

            "Yes?"

            "Ginny, I just, I think you should know that-" _She'll think you're an idiot! Stop stumbling over your words!_

            "Is something wrong, Harry?"

            "No, Ginny, that's just it. Ever since you've come back everything seems so right. I don't even know what to do with myself anymore. I feel like I completely loose myself when I'm around you, and I think I might just be falling in love with you, Ginny Weasley." He stopped here and realized that in his rambling he had confessed what he truly felt for her. There was suddenly a grave silence between the two of them.

**_Anywhere you go let me go too,_**

**_Love me, that's all I ask of you._**

****

            The song ended, but they stood there for just a moment longer, Ginny wishing she could read what was going on in Harry's mind.

            "May I cut in," came a sing-songy voice from behind Ginny. She turned around to see Elizabeth there, anticipating getting to dance with Harry.

            Ginny looked up at Harry then turned back around. "Sure," she said quickly before running off to the garden.

            "Sorry, Elizabeth, I don't want to be rude, but I have to go find Ginny now." Harry rushed off, but was stopped by a few people along the way. 

            Elizabeth was distraught that he would go chasing after Ginny, and was highly offended that he would dance with that red headed ingrate, but not her!

***********************************************************

A/N  So…did ya'll like it? Review either way, please. I do like to get constructive criticism if you have any. Part of my reason for writing fan fics is to improve on my creative writing skills. 


	10. Back to Salem

Chapter 10-

Harry was stopped by Seamus Finnegan while trying to get to Ginny. "Hey Harry, how's it going?"

"Good Seamus, I just- could you excuse me for a moment."

"Yeah sure."

Harry started going faster. He remembered what happened the last time she had left like this, and he couldn't let that happen again, he just couldn't. _Come on find her_. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard crying from the wooded area next to the Burrow. He followed his ears to the source.

"Gin?" The crying stopped for a moment, but Ginny didn't move from her spot. Harry moved cautiously toward her, and took a seat next to her.

"I thought that you were dancing with Elizabeth."

"I told you I didn't want to dance with anyone else, didn't I?" He was glad to see that this had made Ginny smile.

"Harry, I can't do this."

"Do what?"

"I don't know if I can trust you or not." Ginny kept looking down at her feet.

"Why not?"

"Harry, you've always been there for me as a friend. Now that I know what you want, I question why you want it. I can tell with most people, but not you. I just don't know if I can handle being hurt again."

"I would never, never hurt you Ginny. I hated Brian for what he did to you, and I hate myself even more for not preventing it. I should have asked you out long before that bastard ever met you. I know I was stupid, but please, Gin, believe me. I never want you to feel that way again."

" I want to believe what you're saying, but I can't stop thinking ab-"

"Don't think," Harry placed a hand on Ginny's cheek and quickly closed the gap between his and Ginny's lip.

The kiss took Ginny by shock, but soon she kissed Harry back. After a few moments, they both pulled their lips away, but leaned their heads against one another. 

"Harry," Ginny's voice trembled, and her eyes started to tear up.

"Yes?" Harry whispered, with an encouraging smile. His hand was still on her cheek, and he had started stroking her cheek with his fingers.

"I have to go back to Massachusetts." There was a great sorrow in her eyes.

"What?" Harry moved his head back to have the ability to see Ginny in her entirety. "Why?"

"I live there now. I've started a business, I have clients, and the Putnams are there, and I, I-"

"Ginny, I can't live without you. Stay, for me."

"I can't." 

At that point Ginny stood up and walked back to the reception. Harry just sat there in disbelief that he might loose her again. _I can't, I have to be with her_.

***

Ten days later

The Alumni Quidditch tournament had been going on for three days. The seats had been filled during every game. The event had brought in almost as many people as the Quidditch World Cup. Harry's team had been doing very well, also. They did have their own fan section. Between the Weasleys, Mr. Lovegood, the Gryffindors, some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and the Putnams, the 'Huvendors' had a section of tickets filled just for them. 

They had won every game, but not by much. Usually only by thirty or forty points, other times they only won by ten. This put them in the running for the final game. They hadn't faced the Dragons yet, but most of them really weren't worried on it either. 

Ginny wasn't one of those. She had looked at all the rosters when they had first signed up. Listed under seeker for 'The Dragons' was Brian's name. It figured, he always had been a huge Quidditch fan. He had the best broom, and the top of the line equiptment, and if he wasn't talking about himself, he was talking about Qudditch. Ginny hadn't seen him since the night she left for America. 

After the game they had the Monday before the final, she was in the locker room thinking about facing him the next day. Every other girl was already finished and celebrating with the rest of the team. _At least it will be on the pitch_, Ginny was thinking before she turned around and saw the last thing she'd hoped for.

"Hey, Gin." Brian stood there leaning against the nearest locker.

"Don't call me that."

"Why not? That's your name, isn't it?"

"No," she turned and closed her locker door. "That's my nickname. Only my friends call my that." She turned back around and started toward the door. 

Brian stuck his arm out, and stopped her in the middle of her tracks. "Oh, Gin, that hurts." Brian leaned in to her ear and whispered, "You know I've missed you."

"No, you've missed the promotions." She tried to sidestep him, but he just grabbed her again. "Let me go."

"Why didn't you ever write to me, Gin? Where have you been all this time?"

"I moved to America, not that it's any of your business."

***

Tyler, who had been wearing the robes Harry had given him, was on the pitch flying the Rival Flight. Angela had gone into the castle and had asked Harry to keep an eye on Tyler. He had agreed and was showing Tyler more moves in Quidditch. Tyler was busy mimicking moves Harry had made in catching the snitch during several of the games. 

Harry had also watched as several members of his team had left the locker rooms, but the one he was looking for was still in there. So he kept an eye out. There was something that he hadn't expected to happen. Harry saw a male figure walking over to the locker room area.

"Tyler, we'll get back to this lesson, but I have to check something. Can you wait in the stands?"

"Aw, do I have to."

"Sorry, it should only take a moment." Harry landed, and walked quickly over to the entrance of the locker room. He heard shouting, so he just listened at the door to make sure he wasn't wrong about what was going on.

***

"I moved to America, not that it's any of your business." Harry heard that this was Ginny.

"Come on, Gin, you don't really think that you can hide forever. Why don't I take you to Hogsmeade tonight? We can go have dinner." 

"No! Now let me go!"  


"I don't think so," Brian grabbed Ginny by the arms and started kissing her. She tried to push him off, but he was holding her too tightly.

Harry forgot all sense and reason, he burst into the locker room and saw Brian there. "Stop it!" Harry shouted. He took went over to Brian, who had forgotten about Ginny at the moment, and punched him across the face. 

Brian stood back up. "That's the last time you do that to me!" He swung, but Harry dodged and Brian stumbled into the lockers in front of him. 

Harry turned Brian around, and slammed him up against the lockers. "Don't you come near her again!" Brian's lip was bleeding, and a large bump was starting to develop on his head. 

Harry let him down, and Brian went out the door. "This isn't done, Ginny." He warned, and then was gone. 

Ginny finally broke. She leaned against the lockers, slid down until she was on the floor, and started to cry. When Harry was sure that Brian was gone, he knelt in front of her and wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry, Gin, I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner."

"I… he… oh Harry!" This started a new fit of sobs as she wrapped her arms around Harry.

"It'll be okay, Ginny, I won't let him touch you."

The rest of that night, Ginny was skittish to every footstep that came around, and only felt relaxed if Harry was there. She knew that she would be going back to America in about two days, and it might be quite some time before she could come back to see him. _I wish he could come with us_. She knew though that if she wouldn't stay just for him, that he had no reason to go just for her. 

***

The final game was crucial. The Huvendors had to win by one hundred and seventy points to win the tournament. Brian was looking desperately for the snitch. If he couldn't out do Harry by getting Ginny, he'd out do him in the game. 

The Dragons had scored three goals already, and the Huvendors only two. Tyler was jumping up and down. "Come on Ginny! Make a goal!" He could hardly contain himself to staying in his seat, instead of getting his Rival Flight and joining in the game. Most of that containment was his mother, holding the back of his robes. 

Ginny was passed the quaffle, and was making her way to the goal posts. She dodged a bludger and side shot to Angelina. Angelina pushed to get more momentum and shot the quaffle into the left hoop. Cheers came from the crowd. Harry looked to see that the score was tied. He rounded the pitch looking, but he knew that they needed to get at least five more goals before getting the snitch to win. That was if The Dragons didn't get anymore goals as well.

It didn't take much longer before they were three goals ahead. _One more, just one more_, Harry knew that his chasers could do this. He saw Ginny nearly miss a hit from a bludger hit at her, and he looked to see the source, and saw Brian giving the bludger bat back to its owner, and leave to look for the snitch. Harry had half a mind to go knock him off of his broom. 

The alumni announcer (Lee Jordan) gave a shout that distracted Harry from getting disqualified. "THE HUVENDORS SCORE! Fifty to thirty!"

Harry looked all around. This was his chance. He spotted it fluttering down by the pitch. Brian hadn't seen it yet, and he seemed to be staring at Ginny. Harry had a moment of internal struggle between getting the snitch first, and hurting Brian to the point that he wouldn't be able to catch another snitch ever again. He decided on the former coarse of action, considering that if Brian was fighting for the snitch, he'd have to get his eyes off of Ginny.

He made a quick dive. Brian had the advantage in distance, but this was a Rival Flight that Harry was riding. Harry got to the snitch and came out of the dive in plenty of time. Brian, on the other hand, ended up face in the grass of the pitch._ So I can have the best of both worlds,_ Harry thought as he made a victory lap. People came onto the pitch as the Huvendors landed. 

***

Ginny took her suitcase down to the living room. Arthur was able to get the Putnams and Ginny a Ministry car to get to the portkey in London. She came down the stairs to see everyone was there. Hermione and Ron also came back to see them off. They both looked extremely tired. Ginny held her commentary about this though, seeing as this was how she was saying goodbye.

"Where's Harry?" Ginny asked, noticing his absence.

"He had to go into work today, he said that he'll be writing to you though." Ron said this quickly.

"Oh," Ginny was disappointed, but after how she reacted at the reception, she didn't really expect him to still want to be with her. She made her rounds and said goodbye to all her family members, including her new sister, and her little niece.

***

The trip had gone fairly well. They arrived in Salem at nearly noon, and got back to the house just a quarter of an hour after that. Jasmine and Tyler were fighting over who would carry what. Ginny, being tired, just grabbed her bags, and made her way into the house.

She went into the living room where there was a dark-haired person sitting on the couch. Ginny dropped her suitcase in shock. "Harry?"

Harry turned around with a large smile plastered across his face. "Well, it's about time. I got here like two hours ago."

"What? What are you doing here?" 

"Well, there was a wizard that came to the tournament. He's been wanting to start an American Professional Quidditch team, but needs a coach that knows the game like the back of their hand. He offered it to me, and I accepted."

"Where?"

"Well, I told him I'd agree if we could set up the pitch and team here in Massachusetts, or at least within distance of apparation." Harry's hands were in his pockets and he was still across the room.

"I can't believe this, I thought-"

"Don't think." Harry moved over to her, leaned down and kissed her. "I have a place just down the road. You can visit me any time you want."

"Everyday?"

"For the rest of our lives."

THE END

A/N okay, so I know it's a cheesy ending, but I'm one of those commitments forever people. I hope you enjoyed my first fanfic. 

Thank you to all of those who have reviewed and will review! Hope you enjoyed!


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